People Will Look For Flights 48 Times Before Booking

People become serious web investigators when it comes to their vacation or holiday. And we’ve all been there at one point in time. We get an idea of where we want to go, do some research on a variety of destination spots – and when that is all said and done, start to hunt for the best prices for hotels, car rentals, attractions, and of course, the flights that will get us to our dream spot.

According to the largest U.S. online travel agency, Expedia, most of us will hope online and search for flights about 48 times (on average) before we commit to booking.
Sounds about right …

In all seriousness, even the fact that low air fares are quite prevalent in this day and age, most of us are determined to find the lowest and most affordable fare that is not only cost effective, but will also meet our traveling needs. And after over 48 times, this can also be a time-consuming task.

MSN reported that Google may have found a solution to this problem, recently releasing Google Trips in September. It is an app aimed for those who travel, and the best part is: it is equipped with a new feature. Named Google Flights, the goal of this feature is to reduce frequent searches for air fares, and offers a motivator to users around potentially missing out on cheap flights.

It provides potential travelers alerts to when a fare is expected to increase (which can be within hours). It also offers users with ideas on how to snag a lower flight fares, with suggestions on alternative days to fly, and other airports that might offer a cheaper fare, but can help you still reach your destination. Yet another helpful tool to aid individuals with their travel plans. It’s clear: there’s now an app for that too.

Competitor site Kayak has something similar to this Google app, which alerts travelers to an increase in their vacation itinerary should they decide not to book. Two years prior, Expedia released the Scratchpad tool, which would save a user’s past searches, and close the time gap on the process of booking (which would also help with search fatigue when it comes to travel research). An Expedia spokesperson noted that those who use that feature are three times likelier to finish booking on their site, than those who start from scratch again.